Pentagon Plans To Inject Billions of Dollars into US Military in Asia

The Pentagon has partially met President Donald Trump’s demands for more military spending by endorsing a plan to invest roughly $7.5 billion over a period of five years into boosting the United States’ military strength in Asia.

Dubbed the Asia-Pacific Stability Initiative, the proposal was first introduced by Arizona Sen. John McCain and later endorsed by officials, including, “in principle,” Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the head of U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Harry Harris, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

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“This initiative could enhance U.S. military power through targeted funding to realign our force posture in the region, improve operationally relevant infrastructure, fund additional exercises, pre-position equipment and build capacity with our allies and partners,” McCain told Adm. Harris during a hearing last month.

The Pentagon was supportive of the measure, with department spokesman Cmdr. Gary Ross saying in a statement that the DOD “is committed to ensuring that U.S. forces are as capable and ready as possible to face the evolving challenges in the region.”

“If used strategically, it can help stem the tide of the military challenges we face in the Pacific,” Kelly Magsamen, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs under former President Barack Obama, added in an email to the Journal.

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She warned, though, that the proposal needs to be tied to specific requirements for U.S. Pacific Command.

“It shouldn’t just be a slush fund for PACOM,” she said.

There were still a few notable problems, however, including how the program would be funded, and just how exactly China would respond to its implementation.

“Given President Donald Trump’s recent overtures to Chinese President Xi Jinping, any plan to expand the U.S. military presence in Asia eventually may require steps to reassure Beijing that new military measures aren’t directed at the Chinese,” the Journal noted.